Gretchen is jealous of a long blond-haired classmate named Amy. Amy is Mrs. Sheppard's favorite student. She doesn't do stupid things like pass around a signed picture of the teacher drawn in an unflattering light.
Worst of all, Amy was chosen over Gretchen for the lead in Polly's Pies in Peril, the fifth grade spring play. No auditions were held for the play, so Gretchen didn't have the chance to show off the acting she'd been practicing with the other girls every day at recess.
While Gretchen is in her room crying over this turn of events, she remembers something Mrs. Sheppard always says about a fairy godmother not magically appearing to solve all your problems. Gretchen spontaneously calls out for her godmother, and a child sized fairy dressed in a too large uniform appears. After the obligatory initial shock, Gretchen explains her situation and asks Errora for help. The first order of business is to cut off Amy's hair. This, Errora says, will break the spell the girl has over the teacher and secure Gretchen the lead role in the play. The next day at school, Amy's hair is so short that she resembles class clown Dennis Boyd. Mrs. Sheppard is weirdly disapproving of the haircut, but she doesn't take away Amy's part in the play.
Errora's next attempt at getting Gretchen into the play is a little more invasive. She suggests that the girls switch bodies, a la Freaky Friday. The only problem is Amy doesn't know what's going on and her outbursts about being Amy trapped inside Gretchen's body have everyone thinking she's gone crazy. Also, Gretchen can't abide Amy's overbearing stage mother, who forces her daughter to audition for underwear commercials. Gretchen quickly rushes back home to reverse the spell.
Errora's last magic trick is to give poor Amy the chicken pox (Gretchen is her understudy). Unfortunately, Gretchen used her class photo for the spell and Errora got Amy and Dennis mixed up. Dennis, who didn't want to be in the play at all, had been assigned the role of the villan. With Dennis out sick, Mrs. Sheppard is forced to beg Gretchen to take over his part. Gretchen is hesitant at first because she'd really had her heart set on the lead, but she ends up doing a great job. In a clever twist, Errora turns out to be a child fairy who snuck out with her aunt's "injuctulator" (magic making device). This was one of my favorite books as a child. There is a sequel focusing on Amy (who turns out to be a very nice girl) called More Fifth Grade Magic.
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